Vitaly Mikhaylovich Abalakov (russian: Вита́лий Миха́йлович Абала́ков) ( – 26 May 1986
Great Russian Encyclopedia
The ''Great Russian Encyclopedia'' (GRE; russian: Большая российская энциклопедия, БРЭ, transliterated as ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya entsiklopediya'' or academically as ''Bolšaja rossijskaja enciklopedija'') is a u ...
(2006), Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
: Bol'shaya Rossiyskaya Enciklopediya Publisher, vol. 1, p. 9) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
chemical engineer
In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...
,
mountaineer
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, ...
and
inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
.
Brother of
Yevgeniy Abalakov, another famous
alpinist, he made the first Soviet ascent of
Lenin Peak
Lenin Peak or Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Peak ( ky, Ленин Чокусу, ''Lenin Choqusu'', لەنىن چوقۇسۇ; russian: Пик Ленина, ''Pik Lenina''; tg, қуллаи Ленин , ''qulla‘i Lenin/qullaji Lenin'', renamed қулла� ...
in 1934 and two more ascents of this mountain. In 1936 he also made the ascent of
Khan Tengri
Khan Tengri is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range. It is on the China— Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan tripoint, east of lake Issyk Kul. Its geologic elevation is , but its glacial icecap rises to . For this reason, in mountaineer ...
, where he lost several fingers and part of his foot.
In 1938, he and others from his team were arrested by
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
and were under investigation until 1940. He was accused of "open public propaganda" of western mountaineering techniques and "diminishing" domestic alpinists' achievements and being a "German spy".
Abalakov is credited with such inventions as
camming devices in the 1930s,
Abalakov thread (or V-thread) gearless ice climbing anchor, and many other climbing equipment innovations.
Расстрельное время
/ref>
Awards
* Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...
(1957)
* Order of the Badge of Honour
The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.
It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...
(1972)
* Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR (1943)
* ''Honoured Trainer of the USSR'' (1961)
See also
* List of Russian inventors
Bibliography
*
Расстрельное время
References
Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR
D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia alumni
Soviet inventors
20th-century scientists
Soviet explorers
Soviet mountain climbers
Russian explorers
Russian mountain climbers
Merited Coaches of the Soviet Union
Spartak athletes
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery
1906 births
1986 deaths
{{Russia-climbing-bio-stub